Mohican protection group plans meetings

Jim BrewerPublished: August 17, 2006 12:00AM

By JIM BREWER
T-G Staff Writer
MANSFIELD The Mohican Protection Group, a citizens group organized two weeks ago to oppose Columbia Gas Transmission Corp. plans for stepped up maintenance action around gas lines and wellheads in the Mohican-Memorial State Forest, will have two meetings in coming days.
The group will meet 7 p.m. tonight at Gorman Nature Center south of Mansfield, and 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 22 in Lou-donville Public Library.
According to Cheryl Harner of Crestline, one of three trustees appointed by the group at its organizational meeting two weeks ago, tonights meeting is primarily a brainstorming session.
After a brief opening business session, Harner explained, plans are to break into at least five working groups to brainstorm for ideas and select leaders in each area.
Breakout groups will include research, development of written information and Web sites, grassroots organization, displays, petition drives and fund-raising, plus any others thought of at the meeting, Harner said.
Purpose of the meeting tonight is for our groups to mutually come up with ideas, share and discuss them, along with selecting leaders to further organize and direct those groups, said Harner, who also serves as president of the Greater Mansfield Area Audu-bon Society,
At the meeting in Loudonville Tuesday, our plans are to conduct a more general session involving interested persons in that area, as well as to continue the breakout group discussions, she added. Because our first two meetings were at Gorman, it is hoped we can get more folks in from the Loudonville and southern Ashland County area who live close to the Mohican Forest at the Loudonville meeting.
The group was organized after a July 25 meeting at the Mohican Resort and Conference Center, where Columbia officials conducted an information meeting on its gas line maintenance plans.
While Columbia has the legal authority to clear a 300 foot radius around gas wellheads, and a 50-foot right-of-way along gas lines, Columbia officials have maintained they will remove only trees that pose an immediate danger to the wells and lines.
Much disappointment was expressed by many in attendance at the July 25 meeting, particularly on the fact that opponents to the plan were not given an opportunity to express their concerns.
In part because of these concerns, State Sen. Bill Harris, R-19, Ashland, convinced Columbia officials to have another public meeting, in a more controlled environment, before the clearing work begins. Date and location of that meeting has not been announced.
My goal in this process is to preserve the Mohican Forest by holding Columbia to the least amount of clearing possible to keep from fragmenting the forest, Harner said.
In her service with the Audubon Society, Harner said she came to appreciate the deep woods habitat there as one of the few good breeding grounds for several rare types of warblers, one of the few places in Ohio where these delicate birds can breed. My fear is that if the gas company clears its lines and wells as it appears to have the authority to do, it will upset that habitat, and could lead to the extinction of some of these warblers.
She noted the Protection Societys legal counsel has looked at the gas company leases in the forest and we just dont understand, based on these leases, how they can claim the authority to do such extreme cutting. The way the lease was explained to me, any clearing beyond that stipulated in the lease must be approved by the Division of Forestry.
She urged all interested persons to attend either or both of the upcoming meetings, and added a future meeting would be held for interested people in Crawford County.
She said at Thursdays meeting the group will consider requiring members to pay a $20 membership fee; making the list of members public; a rule requiring seven-day notice on votes to change trustees preceded by a signature drive signed by 10 members; and a rule exempting employees of Columbia Gas and their contractors from membership.